Soaking In the Son

Yesterday, we experienced our first full day of vacationing here in Florida and it was a glorious day!!

The resort we are staying at has its very own water park and that is where we spent the first few hours of our day. 

Yes, once again I'm the official photographer of our vacation but this is a vacation I plan to experience as well as document. I think I shocked the kids when the first thing I did was join them riding the lazy river. I have to admit my vantage point is usually from a lounge chair and not in the "thick"" of the activity BUT I vowed this vacation would be different. Now that the kids are older, I'm realizing that soon I will blink and they will be in college, I've made the decision to be a participator and not just on the sidelines watching. Of course, when I went under the double waterfall and got pummeled by gallons of water, I had a moment of wishing I had stayed on my lounger.  

At the water park, they also have a splash zone, this I chose only to observe from a safe distance. The kids enjoyed running around the zone spaying water guns at each other but they were drawn back to the lazy river and spent the rest of the morning going with the flow of the current. Oh, they also have a slide that goes into a grotto on the lazy river. The kids, including Dave, really loved that!! Matt actually did it more times than Emily which surprised me.  

Ahhh....vacation!! We are so very blessed that each year we are able to take time as a family and just enjoy being together and where we are. 

As I was sitting on my lounge chair in between lazy river rides, I took some time to take in the beauty of my surroundings. My eyes were drawn to the palm tree directly in front of me and at the slight sway of a few palms even though the air around seemed to be still and hot. The palms seemed to be whispering. 

If you didn't look close enough you wouldn't notice their movement. In that moment, I thought of how God speaks to us and works in our lives. 

You see the evening before and this morning we were receiving updates regarding a very special boy, Jordan, (I grew up with his dad and aunt in NY) who was having a double lung transplant. Jordan has been on the transplant list for over 8 months and temporarily relocated with his mom and brother to Houston while his dad travels back and forth from his job and their home in North Dakota. This was Jordan's 5th attempt at receiving a transplant. Jordan and his family have been an amazing testimony of God's love and the plan He has for each and every one of our lives. Today we are rejoicing that Jordan has come out of the surgery well and he is in the beginning steps of recovery.

Oh how God cares for us but so many times we are not listening or we are doing our own thing outside of His plan. As I saw the palms swaying on that tree, I was praying for Jordan and also being shown what I need to be doing and that is listening for the whispers of God. The whispers meant for me but I allow life and its craziness to drown them out. So many times I want shouts from God and I "want it now" but God surely doesn't give us what we don't need and he doesn't go by our time table. So far on our vacation, I've seen God working in whispers (the nail in our tire, Matt's upset stomach) and in shouts (Jordan's new lungs). I'm so blessed that God never takes a vacation that He is always working everywhere, in every situation.  Is how He working always how or what I want? No!! But then this life I live is not meant for me but for Him and bringing Him glory through everything I do the big and the small. 

Today is a new day!! A day I choose to enjoy my family soaking up the Florida sun BUT also a day I plan to be soaking in the Son, listening for God in the whispers and praising Him with the loud shout of my life, a living testimony of His love and grace.  

Enjoy your day whereever it may take you!!

Florida Here We Come!

The end of last week turned into a flurry of activity as we prepared for our family vacation - this year to Florida. 

Most people who know me, know that I am a very organized person so packing for a vacation shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? Not right!!! Packing for me is a necessary requirement for vacationing. In the past, I didn't mind the task as much but this time I truly dreaded it. I think mainly because I had limited space to what I am used to packing (when we travel via car we usually take our van this time we were taking our Outback). Also, my husband was packing for one week away while the kids were packing for two. After our time together in Florida, the kids and I are headed to Tennessee while Dave heads back home. We also chose to drive to FL from northeastern NJ, a 17 hour trip (stops not included). Dave and I fully admit we are not night drivers, so our trip consisted of a 2 day split - 10 hours the 1st day, 7 the next with  the  stop over in SC. This decision resulted in an overnight bag to pack. In the end, the packing did get done and after a very busy Saturday we headed out Sunday morning, Father's day.

The kids were ready for this driving adventure. We had been preparing them for weeks letting them know this was NOT going to be a quick drive in the car. They were armed with DS units, Kindles, a DVD player, books and more to pass the time.

About three quarters of the way through our first day of travel, we notice a tire pressure light come on in the car. Turns out we "picked up" a nail during our travels. Although having to make a few extra stops to add air to the tire, thankfully we got to our destination without incident. We made a game plan to get the tire fixed in the morning as traveling on a Sunday resulted in most places being closed. The funny thing is with my organizational craziness I'm usually a stickler when it comes to schedules being kept and this delay didn't really bother me. I had a peace about it, that it would be taken care of and I was very thankful that we didn't have a blow out or got stuck on the highway. The "peace" seemed a little unusual but I was glad for it. I believe everything is in the hands of God and even this nail in our tire and need of repair was part of His plan. 

At 6:44 this morning, we found out how all this was working together. Matt has an issue with allergies and phlegm. Sadly, it builds up and the only way to relieve his upset stomach is spitting it out. Gross I know, but a way of life for him. Well, at this very early hour, he headed to the bathroom to start this elimination process. Once he starts, he goes until he is done and there is really no time table. With Dave having to take care of the tire, Matt was able to take his time and get "better" on his own time table.  We still left by a little after 9 am. 

God truly made this all work together. I know He is always working in the big and little things and I am thankful to be held in His hand.

Our trip took us through the states of South Carolina and Georgia, two states the kids and I have never been in. We can now cross those off our list of states we've "visited". The "Welcome to Florida" sign was a wonderful sight. We still had a ways to drive to our final location but we were happy to say we were in the state!

The place we are staying is a few minutes from Disney but we don't plan on going there until the end of the week.  For now, we are enjoying the pool at the resort, get to go to its water park tomorrow and we will be visiting Dave's sisters and the kid's cousins.

It is so wonderful being on our family vacation and I enjoy sharing it with all of you!  

Last Day of School, Last Day of School

Wow! It is hard to believe I'm actually saying those words, "last day of school". It feels like we were only just celebrating Christmas and attending the kid's Christmas program. Truly, time does pass quickly as you get older. 

This year was a year of change when it came to school. The kids had been attending public school since preschool. Then, God laid it on our hearts to send them to Christian school and we laid it in His hands to allow it to happen financially. We knew that if this was where God wanted them He would provide. Once again, God has proven that when our lives and decisions are placed in His hands "that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them" (Romans 8:28 NLT). In September 2012, the kids started attending Hackensack Christian Schools.

Now, please know that it has not been an easy year, we are not promised easy! We started the year by having to have Emily reevaluated for special education services which resulted in her official classification of "autistic". When it comes to Emily's learning challenges, I'm always very honest.  When this reevaluation was being done, I was "hoping" that with all the time, effort and early intervention done on Emily's behalf that the classification would have been different. It was a selfish moment on my part, wanting to take away the challenges that will always be there in regard to her having autism. BUT I also know that God made Emily exactly the way He wanted and that she has been and will be used mightily for His glory. Also, Emily's learning challenges has made my faith in God grow and also helped me become a true advocate for my children's needs. It has also given me the opportunity to support other parent's, especially mom's, of kids with similar learning issues. This is something I never would have thought of myself doing and of course I only am equipped because of the gift of Emily. 

I have to say this is the first year in quite a while where I have been very actively involved in Emily's progress and her day to day school assignments. This is mainly due to the fact that we are attempting to "teach" Emily how to structure her time and learning as she gets into the older grades, to be more self sufficient.  This is not because we do not want to help her, but our thinking has always been that we need to train her to be able to function in society and as much as possible without us as a safety net. After all, we will not be with her at college, job interviews, career, etc. 

Emily had a first year teacher, a wonderful man, who had not experienced dealing with a special needs student on a full time basis. Thankfully with his support, the special ed services and the school principal, Emily had an academically successful year. 

As a matter of fact, all Emily's hard work and our "monitoring" assisted in Emily being awarded a trophy for "Most Improved" in the school's 4th grade class. We are so very proud of all the effort she puts forth. Emily works hard for her grades and knowing her capabilities, strengths and weaknesses we come along side her to be the most "successful" she can be.

Emily really liked school this year too!! How do we know? She also was awarded a trophy for perfect attendance. This was a first for her. I guess she really liked being at school, with her teacher and classmates, that she didn't want to miss one day.

Matt had a few challenges this year too! Of course, if you know Matt personally, you know he has no trouble socially. Academically, Matt did very well - his biggest strength being in Math and he got to participate in the school's Spelling Bee. He also really enjoyed Bible class. We are always surprised how many details he knows when we start talking about certain Bible stories and he is constantly asking us to "Bible quiz" him during dinner. They are required to learn cursive and it is taught in 2nd grade.  Matt did struggle with this at first - we spent many nights erasing and rewriting words. Within the last month of the year, his cursive/penmanship has totally transformed. When I would review his spelling words, I would have to look twice because of how amazing they looked.
Matt did struggle a little this year with the personal habit of sucking his thumb. Thankfully, his teacher worked with us in trying to implement a plan that would help him to "refrain" from this during school time. We did get him to stop but recently he has regressed a little bit. Something to work on for next year.

Matt did receive a completion of work certificate and received an "A" average in all his subjects throughout the entire year. He did not have perfect attendance but did enjoying going to school, being with his teacher and classmates. He did tell us that he is going to try and get a trophy next year. We said, "it is a good goal to set".
Emily and Matt have been re enrolled to attend Hackensack Christian School next year. Over the summer, we would appreciate it if you would pray for Emily and Matt as we do some work to prep them for 5th and 3rd grade. Please pray for their teachers as they prepare for next year. Also, pray for Dave and I, especially me, as I continue to work on behalf of the kids, especially Emily as the workload and work get harder.

For now, their uniforms are in for their final washing of the 2012-2013 school year. We are looking forward to the summer filled with fun, friends and family vacations.
Oh and on a final note, thank you to all who have prayed our kids through this past school year and for the support you have given us in making this school year happen at HCS. We are truly  grateful!

Kid's Baptism

Here is a small video of the kid's baptism on Sunday, June 9, 2013

Choices, Choices, Choices

This year has been the "birthday of choices" for Emily and Matt. 

When the kids were younger, we would do birthday parties for each of them but in recent years we've been alternating who gets the birthday party based on the age they are turning. Emily being older has changed her style of birthday party to "girls only" get togethers or sleepovers; Matt is more into event parties: Monster Golf or a trip to Monster Jam with a friend. 

As kids get older, we can all attest to the fact that their birthday present requests get more expensive.  So, choices need to start being made.

One Christmas, we purchased a Kindle for the family. In the beginning, I was using it the most for reading. Then, the kids discovered the apps for the Kindle were different from their DS's which had been keeping them content. Slowly, my Kindle reading dwindled as the kids debated over whose turn it was to use it. 

This situation created the "birth" of the "birthday of choices". The kids are currently attending a private school where their classes consist of 10 children. Taking into account their classmates and a few church and neighborhood friends, we gave the kids the option of having a birthday party, which would be their present from us, or a Kindle. We felt this would be a fair choice as both would equal the same amount of money being spent. After several explanations of it is one or the other not both and yes, they could take cupcakes in to school to celebrate their birthday's with their classmates, both kids chose to receive the Kindle. 

Emily's birthday has passed and she was ecstatic to received her Kindle.  Now, Matt is just waiting for the end of the month to receive his. Then, finally, I will be able to go back to using the "family" Kindle for reading.  

As the kids are getting older, we are trying to teach them that life is full of choices and that they need to really think about the choices that they make whether they be regarding the small day to day things or the big issues of life. This birthday choice may seem like a simple lesson but it is a start. It teaches them the value of the gift they are choosing and shows them that  it cost them one thing to get another.  

Our goal is to raise kids who weigh the choices they need to make and choose wisely being good stewards not only of their money but other's too! 

Oh and in the end, I am positive they will be happy with this year's  "birthday of choices". I know Emily is.....Matt has a little more time before his happiness arrives.